Technical Abstract:
Systematic nematologists, who wish to use scanning electron microscopy to help describe nematode features, are frequently confronted by three problems: 1) the number of specimens may be extremely limited; 2) the specimens are commonly shipped in alcohol and may be partially dehydrated and; 3) conventional preparation procedures, such as chemical fixation, dehydration and critical point drying, often cause considerable shrinkage and distortion. To eliminate these problems a protocol was developed that enabled multiple orientations and observations of a single specimen. In brief, a single specimen could be rehydrated, frozen to a specimen holder and observed by low temperature SEM. Following these observations, the specimen could be removed from the instrument, thawed, reoriented, and refrozen for further observation.